


Rough Nights

by AnicomicQueen



Series: Because We're Family [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Brothers, Bruce Wayne (mentioned) - Freeform, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Family, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Just to reiterate, Literally Just People Being People, Loneliness, No Plot/Plotless, Not Beta Read, Really They All Need Hugs, Siblings, There is no plot, We Dye Like Mne, constantly, longer than i intended
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2020-12-27 08:11:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21115550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnicomicQueen/pseuds/AnicomicQueen
Summary: Dick's lonely, Jason is down on his luck, and Tim is in a battle for his life (kinda). No better cure for life's curveballs than time spent with family.Formerly: "Homecoming" Split into three separate chapters because seemed WAY too long for the nothingness fluff that this contained. LolChapter 1: Nightwing coming to Gotham.Chapter 2: Flashback. Mostly Jason having a bad week, skippable if you don't want to read mundane normal adulting problems.Chapter 3: Flash forward. Fluffish stuff and sibling stuff.





	1. Lonely

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this [link](https://ketchup0212.tumblr.com/post/172268844069)
> 
> This turned out soooooo soooo sooo much longer than I originally intended. To those of you who read the entirety before the chapter split, thank you for your patience and I am sooo soo sorry. I know this is just regular human stuff and feels, but it really helped me out when I was having a rough week to write out some of my feelings and frustrations through a fictional character or in this case characters.

_ Friday _

The view from the top of Wayne Enterprises did the city more justice than she was worth Dick thought as he gazed out across the skyline for the first time in months.

It wasn’t often that Nightwing found himself back in Gotham City. In fact, he was usually only ever called back in severe cases. Alien invasions, mass murderer, terrorists, and of course the damn near quarterly Arkham outbreak. So with no impending doom waiting to rain down upon the planet and no sign of of Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, or Joker running amok, what exactly had him back in this dingy metropolis?

Well…

To put it simply. He had felt lonely. 

He loved being in Bludhaven. He really did. And yet...with no other vigilantes in the area, barring the occasional visit from Babs or drive by from Wally, the streets felt unwelcoming and empty at times. The Bludhaven Police Department weren’t as friendly as Gotham’s finest. Friendly might not be the right word. B.P.D. just wasn't as willing to let masks help. They'd had a long history of the wrong kind of masks and heald all masks in such disdain that he was constantly butting heads with the force. It didn't matter who arrived on scene. They all disliked him and he had to see it on their faces night after night. That constant negativity was enough to demotivate even the brightest individual.

So just hours ago, he’d called ahead to let Alfred know he would be coming home for the weekend. Hopefully some downtime with his family would be able to get him out of this funk. 

He took one last look at the well known playground before him and dove into a controlled free fall. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the familiar feeling of cool air rushing past his face and through his hair calm him. God, he missed this. The buildings in Bludhaven weren’t nearly as high as the one’s here in Gotham. There was very little thrill in jumping off a four story building. But an eighty-eight story building? Now that was a nine second trip. Enough time to really feel it. And for Dick, more than enough time to breathe and get his thoughts in order. 

And just like that, his moment was over. With a well practiced hand, he pulled out his grapple and shot off a line.

“Grayson.” Damian’s voice crackled to life through the comms. “Pennyworth said you’d be returning to the residence tonight.”

“He’s correct. I’ll be coming back after patrol. Where are you? I haven’t seen any sign of you or Batman tonight.”

“Simple. I’ve been unlawfully detained for the better part of a fortnight.” Dick could hear the disdain and imagined Damian crossing his arms across his chest in protest. “And father had a business trip in Tokyo. He should be on a flight back now. Drake, and I assume Todd, should be out.”

“Batgirl?”

“Somewhere in Brazil. She’s been gone for a week with one of her roommates.”

“Bummer. Guess I’ll just hoof it alone tonight unless I run into Red.”

“Hnn. Good luck. We rarely cross paths with Drake when we're out. Besides, we haven’t seen him in weeks.”

“I thought he moved back into the manor.” Dick landed on the roof of a three story building near Park Row and watched an ambulance drive by, lights blaring. Headed back toward the hospital.

“He did. But he hasn't come back, not even to the cave, for two weeks."

“Did you guys get into another fight?” 

“NO. He just hates me. Obviously.” 

Dick assumed there was some form of handwave associated with the last bit. It almost sounded like Damian was going for sarcasm. Cute.

"Hm. So you didn't get grounded for fighting?"

"No. That was because of...something else." 

"What'd you do?" He watched the door to Peggy's Pub open as a very inebriated man stumbled over to the curb. 

"Why is it always something _ I _did?" 

"Batman doesn't...Hold on a minute." Dick got ready to go down and help the drunkard avoid getting runover, until a car pulled over and a very angry sounding woman started yelling for him to get in the goddamn car, Maurice. 

"Trouble?"

"Naw." Dick relaxed again and walked to the other side of the building. "Like I was saying. Batman doesn't bench Robin without a reason."

"Of course he doesn't. But under normal circumstances, I would have been given a less severe sentence."

"Normal circumstances? Why are you being cryptic? I can't help if I don't know what's going on."

"Then don't help." Damian said, as though it was the easiest thing in the world for someone like Dick to just not do. "It's not your problem, Richard. It was Drake's. But then _ I _ got caught in the crossfire.”

There was a pause then and by now it was obvious there was more going on than what Damian was willing to expand on without some prying. So Dick took another guess. “_ Bruce _ and Tim?”

“Hn. Good deduction, Watson. I don’t know how you survived as Batman for months with your detective skills.”

“Ouch.” Dick smiled. “So what happened?”

“They had an altercation at the beginning of the month."

"Over what?" Dick asked out of disbelief.

"Father decided to bring up Drake’s status as an emancipated minor.”

Oh. Dick whistled. “Yikes. It didn't go too well, I take it?” 

"An understatement," Damian scoffed. "I was nowhere near the study, but I heard them shouting all the way from the kitchen. Tim stormed out and as I already stated, he has yet to return. We know he’s at one of his apartments on the south side. Father's been talking to his lawyer everyday since though. From what I've gathered, Drake has absolutely nothing to stand on because father "was falsely assumed dead" and the state can't legally emancipate without guardian approval if said guardian is, or in this case was, still living. My guess is he'll be back within the week, whether he likes it or not."

"I'll be sure to steer clear for a week or two."

There was an awkward pause before Damian started up again. "You...You're still coming back tonight though. Right?"

"Oh absolutely. Worry not, little D. I need a break." Dick reassured. 

Suddenly, a flash and a loud bang came from Dick's left. Seemed like it was just a couple blocks away. Maybe three at the most.

"Uh oh. Looks like the break is gonna have to wait. Did that register in the cave?" He started traversing the rooftops in the direction of the billowing smoke. 

“Yes. Looks like it was one of the buildings undergoing renovations near the Gasthaus Brewpub on 11th. Fire department has been notified and dispatched vehicles from 3rd and 8th Division.”

"Ok. Well, I guess that’s my cue. I’ll talk to you later, Damian."

"Right. I should go anyway. Pennyworth should be back from his outing soon and in accordance with some unfair restrictions, I'm not technically supposed to be down here. Don't do anything idiotic."

The line went dead and Dick shot off a line to a taller building across the street and swung himself off the roof and got himself up to the roof. Of all the things he expected tonight, an explosion had not been on the list. 

He jumped off the seven story building down to the six story one next door and rolled to cushion his landing before popping back up and running to the edge. He continued to travel across the rooftops, grappling, running, and leaping from one building to the next. On the way, he saw the fire engines from the 3rd Division pass by, followed closely by EMS. As he got closer, blue and red lit up the street corners and officers were standing by to keep traffic moving down the side streets and away from the debris. Dick took a moment to survey the scene from his current perch before repelling down to ground level and tucking his grapple away. 

One of the police officers turned when his boots collided with the pavement and had her eyes widening when she realized who she was looking at. “Nightwing!” She covered her mouth and looked around to see if anyone had heard her outburst. Having avoided any unwanted attention she straightened up and composed herself before saying, “I thought you operated out of Bludhaven now.”

Nightwing calmly walked over and flashed her a debonair smile. “I do, officer. But with Batman taking the day off, I figured I’d do my part and step in.” He stopped next to her and gestured to the burning building. “So any idea what went down here?”

The woman puffed out her cheeks and adjusted her hat. “We’re not really sure yet. The fire department has to get the blaze under control before we can go in to conduct an investigation. Plus it’s not really our specialty. The fire chief is the one who will report his findings to us. We’re just here per protocol to do crowd and traffic control.” She pointed off to the left with a head nod. “If you want, Chief Cady is right over there.”

NIghtwing followed her line of sight and nodded. “Thanks,” he said before jogging over to the man. 

Chief Cady looked over and rolled his eyes before striding off toward one of the engines near the blaze. “What do you want, cape?”

NIghtwing followed him. “I was in the neighborhood when the explosion happened. Just wanted to see if anyone needed help.”

“Hmm.” The chief looked him up and down before turning to the fire. “Well, I’m afraid there’s not much to be done aside from wait for the sprinkler system to do its job.” Cady pointed to the building to the right of the burning one and again to the one on the right of that building. “All these buildings were undergoing renovations. They violated fire code and had to install new sprinkler and alert systems. I don’t know if it’s lucky these buildings had sprinklers installed last week, or if it’ll turn out to be a waste of taxpayer money, but my guess is foul play. We just don’t know who or why. And unfortunately, with no surveillance on this corner installed, we have absolutely no way of tracking it if it was arson.” Someone called for Chief Cady then and Cady looked over his shoulder. “I wouldn’t normally be so forthcoming with something in my jurisdiction. But I know you masks have pull with the police commissioner. If we find anything useful, I’m sure he’ll fill you in.” Cady sounded slightly annoyed by this. “But like I said, nothing to do but wait. We’ve got this under control. You can go make yourself useful elsewhere.” 

“Of course. Thank you for...,” Nightwing started as the chief stalked off, completely ignoring him, “...your time….” Nightwing sighed heavily and swiped a gloved hand through his hair. What was the point of leaving Bludhaven for the weekend if nobody in Gotham wanted or needed him here either? 

He trudged off to the alley next to the building he’d been on when he first arrived and quickly scaled the fire escape. Once he was at the top he rubbed his temples with one hand and considered just turning in for the night. 

But he should at least take a look at the surrounding area. Just in case.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Thirty minutes into his sweep of the area, Nightwing spotted a body below him in an alleyway as he was leaping the gap from one building to the next. Skidding to a halt, he immediately backtracked, swung over the side of the building and deftly slid down a large gutter attached to the side of the building.

As he made his descent, he started making mental notes regarding the prone figure, hoping to find some clue as to who this person could be or what might of had them lying in the middle of a back street alley. The victim seemed to be a young adult male. About six feet tall. Nice build. Looked like he worked out regularly. He had dark hair. Wore a leather jacket….

Hold up.

He approached slowly once he touched down, almost not able to believe what he thought he was seeing.

Once he got real close though, he felt his heart skip a beat as he realized it actually _ was _ who he thought it was. He couldn’t see the face which was turned away from him, but that mop of unruly hair and the trashed red helmet next to the young man's side was easily identifiable. 

Fearing the worst, Nightwing knelt down next to Jason’s right side and grabbed his left shoulder, getting ready to turn him over to check vitals. 

But then Jason body tensed and he slowly lifted his head from the ground to turn and look at the intruder on his right, practically asking them to just finish him off where he lay. It took a second for those tired turquoise eyes to recognize who the newcomer was, and when he did, he just drawled out, “oh...it’s you,” before letting his head flop back down to how it had been before. Facing away from Nightwing.

“Jeezus, Jay,” Dick said as he released the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in. He let his chin drop down to his chest as the minute of unnecessary stress drained from his system. A moment later, he popped up into a catcher’s squat and cleared his throat awkwardly. “So….Rough night I take it?”

Jason audibly scoffed and Dick was ready for some snappy remark or for Jason to tell him to eff off. But after a moment, Jason just nodded and whispered, “More like rough week….”

_ To be continued...? _


	2. Bad Week

_ Monday _

_ 1:29am _

Jason exited the bathroom in fresh pair of pajama pants and tossed his wet towel over the back of a well-worn wooden chair before flipping the light switch and flopping face first on his bed. His soft, soft bed. Ah yeah. “Good night, bed,” he murmured with a contented sigh into his pillow before sleep took him.

Too bad it didn’t last. 

_ 1:47am _

BWEEE-BWEEE-BWEEE!

BWEEE-BWEEE-BWEEE!

Jason startled awake less than twenty minutes later when the fire alarm started blaring in the apartment and in the halls of the building. Groaning, he sat up and sniffed the air. It didn’t smell like smoke, but he got up anyway and grabbed a shirt off the floor and pulled it over his head. He shoved his feet into his boots and left the laces undone before shuffling out the door and making sure to snag his keys off the counter. 

He was met with tired moms, dads, couples, and crying children in the hallway. Everyone heading for the closest stairway, and everyone carrying only what they absolutely needed. They doubted it was a true fire, but if on the off chance it was, nobody wanted to take the chance. So they all made their way calmly down the main stairs. Some people who were located on the alley side used the fire escapes, but it seemed like everyone made it outside. 

Jason was on the landing between floor three and floor two when the alarm stopped mid BWEEE and everyone seemed to stop moving with it. After a moment, the people outside started filing back into the stairwell and everyone went back up to their designated floors, Jason included. 

He unlocked his door and kicked his boots off before dragging his sore and tired body back to the bed.

_ 2:19am _

BWEEE-BWEEE-BWEEE!

BWEEE-BWEEE-BWEEE!

“Are you kidding me?” Jason grumbled as he dragged himself out of bed again. He was still wearing the shirt from earlier, so he just grabbed his keys, grabbed his phone, slipped into his boots again, and hurried out the door, hoping to beat the rush. But just like before, everyone on his floor was slowly making their way back toward the stairwell.

“Fucking shitty ass apartment complex,” one of his thirty something neighbors complained to his roommate. 

“Hey common, man,” another person called out, “watch the language, there are kids here.”

“Fuck you,” the first person spat back angrily.

“Mike,” his roommate pleaded halfheartedly.

“Mommy, I’m tired.”

“I know, sweetie. We’re just gonna take a walk downstairs, just in case.”

“No, shut up Dan, this is bullshit and you know it.”

“Really?” Jason said, annoyed by the first guy’s douchebaggery. 

Mike looked back at him and rolled his eyes. “Butt out, kid.” Jason bristled. “It’s a free fucking country.”

“Mike, man, can you just like chill?” Dan pushed the man in front of him before whispering a quick apology to Jason.

Jason rolled his eyes and kept walking until just like the first time, the alarm suddenly stopped. 

“Fucking--”

“Michael!”

Jason skipped steps back up to the eight floor and he didn’t bother taking his shoes off when he got back to his place. He just dropped back onto his bed and passed out for the third time that night.

_ 2:56am _

BWEEE-BWEEE-BWEEE!

Jason groaned in frustration and flopped over onto his back to stare at his ceiling. 

BWEEE-BWEEE-BWEEE!

He didn’t need to go down. There was enough evidence that the alarm was wonky. 

BWEEE-BWEEE-BWEEE!

Jason grabbed a pillow and threw it against the wall, but stayed right where he was.

BWEEE-BWEEE-BWEEE!

Ugh! He should have kept the pillow. He could have used it to cover his goddamn ears. He might as well go outside again.

BWEEE-BWE--

Oh thank God. It stopped. Jason slid off his bed and onto the floor and crawled over to his pillow before just flopping down right there and falling asleep next to the wall.

_ 4:32am _

BWEEE-BWEEE-BWEEE!

“Nooooo…” Jason moaned. Dammit he was so  _ fucking  _ tired. He feigned crying sounds since no one else could hear him, but deep down a part of him really did want to cry. This was so frustrating. And he was so. Tired. As the alarm continued to blare, he woefully dragged himself up off the floor and took a deep breath to stave off a sudden rush of dizziness. 

This time the alarm lasted for well over thirty minutes. That was more than long enough for the entire building to evacuate and for the fire department to make it on scene to investigate the issue. Jason watched from a cozy spot he’d staked out on the curb across the street. Despite the spinning red and white lights, barking dogs, and disgruntled neighbors, he was able to doze off for a minute here and there until his head either dropped off his hand, startling him awake, or until his head hit the bumper of the car he was sitting next to.

At 5:12am, the fire department had finally completed all their checks and made an announcement over their loudspeaker, saying that they had isolated the issue and the residents could return to their apartments. 

Jason sluggishly dragged his tired bum back up to the eight floor for what he hoped was the final time that morning….

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

_ Tuesday _

Jason dropped the last of his groceries onto the belt and strode over to the card reader.

“I can take that for you, sir,” the high schooler behind the register offered brightly, pointing at the handbasket Jason had just emptied. 

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Jason said, passing it to the young lady.

“No problem!”

Jason watched the girl scan all his items and helped her put the stuff into two large brown paper bags.

“Alright, that’ll be $63.42.”

Jason inserted his debit card and entered his pin and waited for her to do her bit. But then she made a face at the screen and he heard the tell tale beep that meant his card didn’t go through.

“Uh, I’m sorry, sir,” she said apologetically. “Your card has been declined. Did you want to try again?”

“Yeah…” Jason tried again and the same thing happened. 

“Do you have another card you wanted to try?” she tried, sympathizing with his situation.

Jason deflated. “No...I...don’t have another card, actually.” He checked his pockets, but all he came up with was $7 in cash and a fucking safety pin. He pursed his lips and pointed at the loaf of bread and the package of ham. “I’ll just take those two things and I guess I’ll...come back later. I’m sorry.”

“Okay….if you’re sure.” She rang up the two items and waited until he was a little ways off before quietly calling someone at customer service to come put the groceries back.

Outside, Jason pulled his phone out of his pocket and called his bank to ask what was happening. But the only answer they gave him was that his card had been shut off due to suspicious activity and a report from an online seller that had been compromised. In an attempt to protect him from getting his information stolen, they were required to take action. 

“We sent you a few emails regarding the card change,” the lady on the phone said softly, understanding how difficult it was to take in this information. “You should have received the replacement yesterday.”

Jason made a frustrated noise and said, “Well, I didn’t get anything from you in the mail yesterday or today.”

“Hmm...if that’s the case, I’m afraid we’ll have to cancel that card and send you a new card, but it’ll take a couple days for it to arrive. You’ll get it on Friday. Does that sound okay?”

“Sure. I just need a card. I’ll make what I have last until then.”

“Okay. Then I’ll just need to verify your address so we can get that expedited to you….”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

_ Wednesday _

Someone knocked on the door to Jason’s apartment around 11:30am.

Slightly confused by this new occurrence, Jason pulled the door open and studied the man in front of him. “

“Hi! I’m looking for a Mr. Todd Peters?”

“You found him.”

The man held out an envelope and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “We found this under the seat of one of our trucks. Sorry it arrived a few days late. Hope it wasn’t too important.”

Jason took the envelope and looked at who it was from. 

_ Gotham Credit Union. _

“Oh you have got to be fu--” Jason cut himself off and took a calming breath. “Thank you,” he said through gritted teeth while he tried to fake a smile. Unfortunately all he managed to do was scare the government employee as the man focused on how he’d just snapped whatever had been in the envelope with his bare hand.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

_ Thursday _

Jason relished the normalcy of tonight’s patrol after the last three days of one unfortunate circumstance after the other. He’d been living off of very plain ham sandwiches since Tuesday, but aside from that, he’d busted a low level drug ring tonight, the fire alarm to his apartment building was off the fritz, and he would be getting his debit card tomorrow which meant he was treating himself to some chili dogs!

He cheered to himself as he jumped from one building to another, making his way back home. He was so excited to finally have something else to eat, and really, to have enough food to  _ actually _ sustain him. He was a big guy and a couple ham sandwiches a day were simply not cutting it.

He leapt over another gap between buildings, only a half a block away from the apartment, and that’s when his day went from fine to not fine. He looked down just in time to see his phone slip out of jacket pocket. “No!” In his haste to try and catch it, he flicked one corner with his middle finger, "Shit!” and sent the device spiralling down to the ground with a crash. It all happened in a matter of seconds and due to the distraction he was late to making sure he was clear for landing. He felt his shin connect with the brick wall that enclosed the rooftop access area, making him curse, and he soon found himself sprawled out on his back, staring at the stars and newly phoneless. “Ow….”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

_ Friday _

“Please be here, please be here, please be here,” Jason muttered to himself in a mantra-like fashion. 

He put the small key into his mailbox and slowly opened it to reveal...nothing.

“Dammit.” Jason slammed the mailbox shut and begrudgingly went back up to his apartment. He let the door to his apartment bang shut and just stood there for a bit until his stomach inevitably rebelled. His eyes flashed over to the now nearly gone loaf of bread and his stomach did a backflip at the mere thought of having to eat another ham sandwich. “Guess I’ll just starve,” he said, giving in to his rotten luck and opting for a nap on the couch.

His nap ended a few hours later when he heard a knock at his door.

He reached into his pocket for his phone to check the time until he remembered he didn’t have a phone anymore. Ugh. He was hungry. He sat up with a huff and looked at the stove clock. It read 7:52pm. 

Wow. He slept for like four hours...not bad. At least something good happened.

“What the actual  _ fuck _ !” a voice in the hallway shouted. 

Probably Mike.

Jason yawned and picked himself up off the floor to see what the ruckus was. He heard a lot of voices out there now.

He pulled the door open and saw every one of his neighbors lingering in the hallway, holding various letters. One woman was crying and her neighbor was trying to comfort her. Jason looked over at Mike and Dan and as much as he felt he disliked the former, he figured they would be the best sources of information. Mostly probably just Dan. 

“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked.

“This place is a fucking shithole,” Mike said unhelpfully.

“Yeah, I know. Why do you think I chose to live here?” Jason threw back at him, thinking it was a good response. 

Dan held out a paper. “No, he’s actually right this time. We’re getting kicked out. Take a look.”

Jason grabbed the paper and quickly skimmed over the contents. “Safety Commission? Is this for real?”

Dan nodded. “Yeah. Apparently the buildings condemned. We’ve all been given a week to vacate the premises.”

“A  _ week _ ?” Jason repeated. “It was condemned today and they’re giving everyone a week?”

Dan made a face. “Well, it sounds like there have been a lot of issues regarding this building. The last straw was probably the fire alarm debacle on Monday. The sheriff’s department apparently got involved and found out there are a ton of code violations. Then there’s the whole thing of, they haven’t been able to contact our landlord.” Dan rolled his eyes. “Honestly I guess we should have expected this. I’ve been asking for the water heater to be fixed for months and I haven’t even seen a work order for it.” Dan shook his head. “Well, anyway. It’s been a fun week I suppose, but we gotta start getting our shit together. Literally. Good luck finding a new place, man.”

“Yeah, same, I guess,” Jason thanked them before heading back into his own place. 

He leaned back on the door and read the notice again as he slid down into a sitting position. 

He closed his eyes, let his hands fall into his lap and his head fall back to thud against the door with a quiet, “ _ Damn  _ it….”

_ To Be Continued? _


	3. Lift Home

_ Present _

Dick continued to wait patiently for Jason to finish venting about his week. From what he’d heard so far, Jason had indeed had a rough week. It made Dick almost feel silly for feeling like he needed to come home over something so little as not feeling needed nor wanted in Bludhaven. The woes of being an extrovert he supposed. But there was also a part of him that thought maybe there was a reason he had been pushed by fate to come back to Gotham. Maybe fate wasn’t punishing him with a feeling of loneliness for the hell of it. Maybe it was something else. Maybe fate had seen the week his brother had had so far, saw how relentlessly she’d tried him, how defeated he became, and out of an act of kindness, she guided Dick back so he could find him. Thus killing two former birds with one stone. 

“...AND then,” Jason said loudly, stressing how whatever happened next had been his breaking point, “to top it all off, tonight was a complete wreck.” He still hadn’t moved from where he lay prone, head turned away from Dick, but he’d been idly futzing with a small rock that was sitting near his face which he suddenly picked up. “I mean, I  _ love _ surprise explosions as much as the next guy,” he said, tossing the rock off a ways, “but I really, really could have gone without one tonight.”

Ah. Guess that explosion wasn’t strictly arson then, Dick thought to himself. He’d have to follow up on that later.

Jason shifted and started feeling around for his helmet, missed a couple times, but he eventually managed to get a hold of it. Dick assumed he was grabbing it to make sure it still worked, but then Jason just up and chucked it. It didn’t travel more than ten feet before skittering to a halt. 

“Stupid thing is broken. So fucking useless.” Jason huffed sardonically. “The one time I actually try to call someone for an assist ad it doesn’t even work. Thanks, karma,” he said, voice cracking slightly. “Message received.” He created a pillow with his arms and hid his face in it like heads up seven up. “I’m so tired….” 

Dick felt bad for him. Jason was obviously at his limit. Explained why he was just lying in the middle of an alleyway, practically waiting for someone to come do him in. Dick put a hand on Jay’s head and lightly ruffled his hair. “It’s okay, Little Wing.”

Jason lazily moved to bat the hand away, but gave up almost as soon as he started. “Go  _ away _ , Dick." And that definitely wasn't him whining. "Just leave me here to evaporate from my puddle of misery.”

Dick rolled his eyes at the melodrama. “Hmm. Tempting, but I don’t think I can. Now come on,” he said, giving Jason a brotherly pat on the shoulder before standing up. “I’m taking you home, bud.”

Jason lifted his head from his arm pillow and deliberately glared at him. “Weren’t you listening? I don’t  _ have _ a home.” Then he dropped his head back down and turned over onto his side so he didn’t have to look at his fool of a brother.

“Jason….” Dick sighed, mentally preparing himself for the long haul with this conversation. It didn’t seem like Jason was gonna give in that easily. Still. It couldn’t hurt to start with the obvious, so he tentatively added, “Please?”

A car passed the alley, briefly illuminating the darkness.

After a moment, Jason spoke up, and sighed defeatedly. “Yeah...okay….”

“Oh, uh. Good,” Dick said lamely. He didn’t think that was gonna work quite so well. 

Jason rolled onto his back and closed his eyes with yet another sigh. “But I kinda can’t move right now. So just...gimme a minute. Or five. Possibly ten.” Dick chuckled and shook his head. “Better yet, I’ll just stay here. I liked my original plan. I’d say, call me when you get home, but I don’t have a phone so--oof!”

Jason was cut off as the air was knocked out of him and his stomach tingled with the sensation of being spun. When he finally gets his breath back and opens his eyes he finds himself slung across Nightwing’s shoulders in a fireman’s carry.

“Fucking--ow. Was the ranger roll necessary, you  _ ass _ ?” he hissed as he attempted to free himself.

“Yes. ” Dick stated simply, then he tightened his hold and kipped Jason higher on his shoulders. “Now stop squirming or I’ll drop you.”

“Oh no,” Jason mocked. “I’m gonna fall four feet.” He wiggled again and purposely threw Dick off balance. “Let me down.”

Dick obliged, letting him slide off his shoulders until his boots hit the ground. Jason hissed and immediately shifted his weight from his right foot to his left. 

“You okay?” Dick reached out an arm to steady him.

“Yeah…" Jason allowed Dick to pull one of his arms around his shoulder. "Explosion threw me and I beefed it. This week blows."

"Sorry you've had such a shitty week, Jay."

Jason shrugged. "Par for the course. So what are you doing here anyway? We don't see you out often."

Dick grimaced. "I hate to go all pity party on myself, but I was feeling lonely."

To his surprise, Jason nodded in understanding. "Yeah. I get that....”

Dick thought about that for a minute while they walked to the fire escape. Jason was in Gotham City these days, but he didn’t live at the manor anymore. As far as Dick knew, Jason rarely dropped by to say hello to Bruce, or Tim, or Alfred. And he knew for a fact Jason wasn’t stopping by to see Damian. Chances were, despite being so close to “home,” Jason also got lonely from time to time. He supposed it was bound to happen when one chose to leave the nest, seeking freedom and independence, and opted to live alone. Even if they never really talked to the people they lived with before, there was a comfort in knowing someone else had been there. Just in case life decided to take a sudden downward turn. 

Dick helped Jason along as best he could as they clumsily clambered up the fire escape and eventually they made it back up the roof where they could wait safely away from any streetside croneys. Dick lowered Jason to the ground so he could rest back against the parapet before dropping down next to him and radioing the cave.

“Hey, it’s me. I’m with Hood on 57th near the park and we could use a pick up.”

It took a minute, but the line crackled to life and someone finally responded. “Red Robin to Nightwing. ETA nine minutes.”

Dick smiled. “So you  _ are _ out then? I was hoping I’d run into you.”

“Of course I’m out. Why wouldn’t I be,” Tim snapped from the other end, obviously annoyed.

“I heard you and someone got into a fight.” Dick gave him a bit to register the implications, hoping Tim would respond. But the line stayed quiet and he decided to push a little more. “Okay, listen. I just wanted to check and see if you were alright. It’s my job to check in with you from time to time.” He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Jason who looked defeated and just all around miserable. “It’s literally written in the big brother contract. If I get you I’m batting a thousand.”

“Okay,” Tim started, sounding slightly miffed. “First off,  _ someone _ needs to keep their mouth shut because it doesn’t involve them. And second, you definitely misused ‘literally’ because I know for a fact that doesn’t even exist.”

“I heard differently. And it does exist. I wrote it.”

“No you didn’t. You hate writing.”

“True. But I could write it.”

“You won’t. Five minutes, by the way.”

“Also true.” Dick quick held up a hand, indicating to Jason that their Bat-Lyft was nearly there. “You sure you don’t want to talk about what happened? It’s already after one and if you’re taking us back to the cave anyway, you might as well just stay the night.”

“I’d rather not risk the run-in with you know who.”

“You won’t. I heard you know who is in Tokyo.” Dick tactfully refrained from giving more information than was necessary. Sort of a lie, but if he didn’t ask…

He heard Tim groan on the other end, likely holding a conference with his inner selves. “Ugh, okay. Fine. But I’m  _ not _ talking to him if he comes back early.”

“The silent treatment. A classic.”

“Shut up,  _ dick _ . I’m here.” 

The sound of tires screeching to a stop followed by the pop of a grappling gun going off echoed up from the alley below. Red Robin hopped over the ledge and dropped to the roof with a large duffel bag.

“What’s with the bag, Red?”

“It’s clothes.”

Jason sat up, suddenly curious and very slightly confused. “For what?”

“You guys. Obviously.” Tim dropped the bag to the floor and unzipped it to reveal a bunch of sweatpants and Gotham Knights sweatshirts as well as another duffel. “I have a  _ single-person cycle _ . I obviously can’t drive two of you, so we’re taking an Uber.”

“Seriously?” Jason couldn’t believe they were just going to grab an Uber back home. “That’s so lame.”

Meanwhile, Dick was already throwing on a baggy pair of sweatpants and tucking the ends into his boots. Tim and Jason watched in mild horror at their fashion abomination of a brother, but it was too late to fix him this late in life.

“Hey, these are  _ my _ sweatshirts,” Dick said, picking one up and turning it around to inspect it. 

A blush spread out on Tim’s cheeks, peeking out from the edge of the domino. “Are they?”

“Yes! They are,” Dick said, holding the labeled tag matter-of-factly for them to see.

“Well,” Tim coughed into his fist. “I guess that works out then. To be fair, I just grabbed a bunch of stuff off a pile of clothes. Al must have made a mistake and thought they were mine.”

Jason rolled his eyes and fake coughed, “Kk-liar!” He had traded his leather jacket for one of the baggier sweatshirts.

Tim glared at him before pulling on a very well-worn blue sweatshirt out and pulling it over his head. “I hate both of you.”

Dick had already pulled his domino off and stuffed it into one of the bags and he ran a hand through his hair to fix it from when he pulled his-- _ literally his _ \--sweatshirt on. “Aw, come on, Tim. Don’t be like that. We’re supposed to have a good brother night tonight.”

“I don’t think I got the ‘good’ invitation for this week,” Jason scoffed. He shoved his hands into the front pocket of the hoodie. 

“Okay, well, I mean from now  _ forward _ we’ll have a good night,” Dick explained, zipping up both bags now that they were all relatively civilian-looking. He took one and handed the other to Tim.

“Not very promising, Dick. It’s technically morning.” Tim smirked mischievously, slinging the bag on his shoulder with ease.

“Hah. Nice.” Jason gave him a high five as they headed back to the fire escape.

“Why do I ever miss you guys?” 

Tim shrugged and playfully glanced back. “I think it’s in that big brother contract you were talking about. Guess it is real.”

Dick was taken aback for a moment, but then he smiled and let out a contented sigh. He was glad he decided to come home. It seemed like they all needed a little something to fill in the gaps the past week created. For Jason, it was seeing someone cared enough to pick him up off the floor. For Tim, it was hearing that someone was willing to listen. And for Dick, it was knowing that someone, or someones, needed and wanted him around. With any luck, Dick would be able to help barter Damian's release from Bat-custody as well. But that one would likely have to wait at least until morning.

Shaking his head, he jogged to catch up and slung his arms over his two brother's shoulders.

"So," he laughed, "who's gonna call the Uber?"

_ To Be Continued? _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll probably tack on one more fluff chapter to this one. And then I'm planning on doing a flash flash back regarding Tim and the emancipation stuff.


End file.
